About Me

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I am a retired English teacher and department head, the mother of three grand mother of four, and have been married to the same man for 52 years. I subscribe to Dr. PM Forni's concept of Civility. I was born in South Philadelphia and grew up in the 'burbs. I love soft pretzels and cheesesteaks, the Phillies, the Eagles, and San Diego. I love being Mom, Aunt Kathy, Nona Kathy, and Teacher. I spend a lot of time in my gardens in the spring and summer, and in the winter I plan what I'm going to plant. I also am an avid reader and photographer.

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Tuesday, February 2, 2010

Our House

Our house has always been an 'interesting' place, but since our daughter and grand daughter moved back in it is moreso.  Our living room - what was once a stylish, orderly, and clean space now resembles a Fisher Price test area and in order to enter or leave it, I must 'take' a three-foot gate that the baby has learned to lift up and crawl under, yelling, "KATH, WHERE ARE YOU?"  Baby bottles and paraphernalia line the once cleared granite counter tops in the kitchen, hand and lip prints and doggie schtuz adorn the TV, sliding glass doors and anything shorter than four feet.

A huge dog crate (for a huge dog) with an old feather duvet that spews feathers every time the dog adjusts himself is parked in our dining room.  (We put him in the crate when the baby is eating, otherwise we re-enact Darwin theories like 'survival of the fittest'.)  Everyone who comes to the door (the UPS man, various and sundry work people,  my husband's business associates (both he and daughter work from our home), and the only occasional friend for me) are heartily greeted by a 22-month old who assigns them names according to whom she's already met that they look like. For instance, some time ago we had a sweet babysitter named Morgan.  The baby loved her and so every sitter thereafter has been dubbed "Morgan-Danielle" or "Morgan-Jenn" and anyone man coming to the door who looks like Jimmie, the man who delivers our wood, is greeted as such...LOUDLY.  Most people reply in kind; who can resist?

Living with an adult child and her child is not easy.  We've all learned to compromise and the importance of self medication :).  Mostly, we've learned how much we love each other.  As it happens, our experiment will come to an end in about 60 days as our daughter bought a lovely home about 15 minutes from here for herself and her daughter.  Are we looking forward to being empty-nesters again?   Of course, but it certainly will be quiet...

14 comments:

jane said...

self medication-haha! my stepmother always says she can´t wait for us to come... and then to leave... :) i remember daniel used to call everyone by different sounds and grunts. i was a little worried there for awhile :)

Jay said...

I think knowing that it's only going to be another 60 days makes it a lot more tolerable. If it was open-ended I'm not sure the things you described would be so cute. haha ;-)

happyone said...

You're a better person than I am. I don't think I could live with either child of mine in the same house. :-)

A Slice of My Life said...

15 minutes away is great...close but not too close.

I can't imagine living with my parents again. We would completely drive each other nuts!

Two Minute Takes said...

Loved your post Kathy and missed your writing the past week +. I know where you are coming from. My daughter and first grand-daughter lived with me for the first six months when the baby was born. I was in a one bedroom apt. that became the nursery and the livingroom my bedroom. Thank God for the queen size pull-out! Yes, adjustments have to be made when adult children move home again but I would not have traded that bonding time with my grand-daughter Ella for any amount of empty nesting. It was heart-wrenching and exciting all at the same time as they left and moved into their newly finished home. Took me awhile to get used to all the room I had once again.

beachgirl said...

I have 2 of mine back home. The invasion occurred a few years ago. My daughter tells me that since I had such a hard time with empty nest they moved back home for me.
I still laugh at that one. I wish they would move out. But love having them here also.

Sweet Virginia Breeze said...

I'm sure you will miss that grandbaby when they move, but you will also enjoy getting your home back. 15 minutes away is perfect - close enough to visit often yet not too close.

Anonymous said...

I'm sorry, but I couldn't help to read this post with a huge smile. I pictures your granddaughter being that adorable child (from previous photo's on this blog) crawling around and just having the time of her life. While the adults seem to be occupied with what ever they are occupied with. Oowh, how I love it when kids explore (as long as it is in some one else's house -lol-).
In 60 days you'll have the best of both worlds. Having your dearest near you, without the Fisher Price test Area....hahaha... Gosh, you're such a funny grandmother, XXX. C

Rick Rockhill said...

You've done a really good job "covering" these past few months here on this blog Kath. In retrospect, it was an excellent running-topic for a blog. It held my interest, was topical, real and filled with lessons along the way.

As a side note, I smiled about the dog and the duvet/feather thing. I have the exact same thing here. Both poodles love to plop down on it after walking in circles and finding the exact spot for themselves.

CRUSTY MOM-E said...

love that part about self medication. That's awesome that you have your daughter and grandchild. Some parents aren't as "hip."

Enjoy the noise. :)
e

Anonymous said...

Hahaha, Kathy...those are Smarties the kids planted in the cookies. Your comment made me laugh out really loud. I could almost see the shock in you eyes;-))

Walker said...

Living with kids of any age is an adventure but a 22 month old can be eye opening in so many ways especially when they speak

Brad said...

I'm glad she'll be so close - I;m sure you won't have to many long periods of quiet - you might still have to savor them!

kateri said...

Self-medicating. Yum.

I can sort of relate to the nesting situation. Both of my adult kids live with me...and while I feel blessed for this time together...there ARE days...(and nights)

Congrats to your girl on her new home! :)